2020 will surely go down in the history books for many reasons, but no one can overlook the transformative impact its circumstances have wrought on the way we collaborate and connect to get work done. And while the world counts the economic costs of the global health crisis, forward-looking enterprises like Crestron are looking at workplace change through a longer lens, building the tools and applications to enable us to work together safely and effectively — wherever we’re located.
The new Crestron whitepaper Workplace 2020 and Beyond explores the impact that the pandemic has had on the digital workplace transformation, catalysing future-of-work trends for which Crestron have been creating for years — but with new priorities and constraints, for the hybrid workspaces we are now envisaging.
Unleashing the power of working from anywhere
By separating the work being done from a fixed location or device, the power of flexible spaces, seamless UC, and fluid meetings, are unlocked. While communications and interaction with colleagues may have suffered for some in the throes of lockdown, consciously designing frictionless communications technology into workflows and tools transcends physical location. And existing spaces can be modified, to ensure safe distancing, touchless interactivity, and automated monitoring and new ways to keep people safe.
As Andrew Gross, Director of Sales UC Enterprise, explained, ‘businesses have to work within the physical constraints of their building, but we can retrofit dynamic collaboration, installing flexible — even mobile — video conferencing and collaboration technologies to turn any room into a hub of productivity.
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Andrew Gross[/caption]
The same technology is promoting the implementation of ‘new normality’ guidelines, such as wireless presentation solutions, bring-your-own-meeting functionality, occupancy sensors/counters, and completely touch-free interactions - while at the same time AI monitors flow and resource usage, to inform policies and anticipate user needs.
“It’s the combination of flexibility, scalability, mobility and analytics, that will help people work safely and productively in the workplace of the future,” Gross continued. “We’re creating all of these smart tools and layers to essentially work unnoticed in the background — so if you’re using a medium-sized meeting room to work on site with 3 other colleagues and a remote team, you’ll find the cameras and mics responsively configured to work across that space and its newly-understood safe occupancy parameters. You won’t have to do anything — just get to work.
